Fried Gram Ladoo

An easy and healthy sweet.. Fried gram ladoo / pottu kadalai urundai !

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time : 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

Fried gram/pottu kadalai - 1 cup
Desiccated coconut powder - 1 cup
Powdered sugar - 1 1/2 ccups
Cashews - a handful chopped
Cardamom powder -1 teaspoon
Ghee - 1/4 cup

METHOD:

1. Dry roast fried gram in a pan, till it is hot to touch. Set aside.

2. In the same pan, dry roast coconut powder, till nice aroma comes. No need to fry till they change colour. It should be white in color.Set aside.

3. In the same pan, add some ghee and fry chopped cashews till they change colour.

4. Now mix fried gram,coconut powder,cashews and powdered sugar . Grind them all together in to fine powder. Sprinkle some cardamom powder.

5. Heat ghee well in a kadai.

6. Pour hot ghee on the flour and mix gently with a spoon. The ghee should be really hot when you pour it.

7. Wait for some 5 minutes. When it is warm enough to touch, apply some ghee on your hands. Take some flour and make round shaped ladoos .

8.Fried gram ladoo/pottukadalai urundai is ready !!

Maida Burfi

Tasty Maida Burfi 💙💚💛💜💓

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Yields : 40 pieces

INGREDIENTS:

All purpose flour/maida - 1 1/2 cup
Sugar - 2 3/4 cup
Water - 1 cup
Ghee - 3/4 cup
Cashews - a handful
Food colour - a pinch
Vanilla essence - 1/4 teaspoon(optional)

METHOD:

1. Prepare all ingredients and set ready. In a large plate, place an aluminium foil and grease it with ghee.

2. In a pan. Add ghee. Allow it to boil and when it is heated well, add chopped cashews. Then slowly add maida in one hand and keep stirring on the other hand. Stir continuously without any lumps for 2 to 3 minutes, until you get a paste like texture as below. The maida should be fried well in the ghee . Switch off the stove.

3. Now in a vessel, add sugar. Add water just to cover the sugar. I added about 1 cup of water . Allow to boil, till you get a one string consistency . It takes approximately 9 to 10 minutes. Pour a drop of sugar syrup on a plate. When it is warm, press the syrup between forefinger and thumb and when you pull apart , you get one string.

4. Now add food color and vanilla essence to the syrup and switch off the stove.

5. Now pour this sugar syrup on the maida mixture which we prepared in step 2. Keep stirring continuously. Remember this stirring is done not on the stove. No need to heat this mixture. Just without turning on the gas stove, keep stirring the syrup and maida mixture. In 4 to 5 minutes, it slowly thickens and starts leaving the sides of the pan. The mixture thickens and comes together.

6. Pour this mixture on the greased aluminum foil. Spread it evenly. spread some ghee on the back of metal cup and press it gently on the mixture.

7. Wait for about 5 to 10 minutes. When it is warm, flip the burfi on the other plate and slowly remove the aluminium foil. Grease a knife with ghee, and cut them in to square shapes.Do not allow to cool down completely. You need to cut them in to desired shapes when it is warm.

8. Maida burfi is ready ! Refrigerate them after a day.

SEE ALSO:  Mysore pak, Padar peni, Rava kesari

Sweet Somas

Tasty sweet made with maida and with a filling of coconut,fried gram and sugar. It is also called kajjikayalu in andhra pradesh, karanji in maharashtra .

Preparation Time : 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Yields - 20-23 nos of somas.

INGREDIENTS:
All purpose flour/Maida - 3 cups
Rava/Sooji - 1/2 cup
Oil - 3 tablespoon
Salt - a pinch

FOR STUFFING:

Fried gram/pottu kadalai - 1 cup
Desiccated coconut powder - 1 cup
Powdered sugar - 1 1/2 cups
Cashew nuts - A handful chopped.
Cardamom powder - 1 teaspoon

Oil for deep frying.

METHOD:

1. In a pan, dry roast fried gram , till it is hot to touch. Set aside.

2. In the same pan, dry roast coconut powder till you get nice aroma. Don't over roast. The color should not change and should be white.

3. In the same pan, add some ghee and fry chopped cashews.

4. Now, grind the fried gram in to a coarse powder.

5. Now mix the grinded gram with coconut powder, powdered sugar and roasted cashews. Mix them well. The stuffing for somas is ready !.

6. Now in a large bowl, add maida, salt and 3 tablespoon of oil. Mix them well. Add water gradually and knead them  to form a thick dough. The dough consistency should be as like we make for poori.  Cover the dough with wet cloth and allow it to rest for 2 hours.

7. Now take small lemon sized ball and flatten it to the size of poori. Do not make it too thick . Else when you fry, the outer layer gets too thick. Make it slightly thin. Now using any metal vessel bottom, press it on the dough to get a perfect circular shape. I used approximately 4.5 inch diameter sized vessel. By this way, we get same sized somas.

8. Now keep about 1 to 1.5 teaspoon of stuffing in the center of the dough.

9. Apply some water on the edges of half of the circle and close it . Press it well , so that the fillings wont come out when you fry. This is very important. Else, when you deep fry, the fillings would come out . You can also decorate the edges using a fork.

10. Now deep fry them in oil, till they change to golden brown.

11. Sweet somas is ready !. Do try and leave your comments !

NOTES:

1. If you have leftover stuffing , you can add some ghee to it and roll them to round shape. They are  called fried gram ladoos !

2. SEE ALSO: Carrot halwa, Poori payasam, Milk powder Gulab jamun

Milkpowder Burfi

For this diwali, spend just 15 minutes to make this delicious burfi  with milk powder,milk,sugar and ghee !

Preparation Time: Under 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Yields - approx. 15-18 no.s

INGREDIENTS:

Milk powder -2 1/2 cup
Sugar -1/2 cup( If you want more sweet, you can add more)
Whole milk - 3/4 cup
Ghee - 1/4 cup
Chopped almonds - a handful
Vanilla essence - 1/2 teaspoon(optional)
Cardamom powder - as required

METHOD:

1. Prepare all ingredients and set ready.

2. In a pan, add whole milk and ghee and heat it briefly till it is warm.

3. Now keep the flame low. Add milk powder . Also add sugar and mix all the ingredients well. Keep stirring constantly. Add vanilla essence.

4. The mixture slowly thickens. Keep the flame low and keep stirring constantly. The sugar gets completely dissolved and mixture thickens and comes together as a dough. It will take approximately 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the mixture looks like below picture and dough will not stick to the pan. Switch off the stove and add cardamom powder and mix well. Do not cook more than 10 minutes, as the burfi would turn chewy.

5. Now grease a a aluminium foil with ghee and put the dough in the pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle the chopped almonds on the burfi and press the almonds gently on the dough using back of a metal spoon or metal cup.

6. Allow it to set for two hours. Now cut them in to big square pieces. Put them in small cupcake wrappers, so that burfis dont get stick to each other. Refrigerate them.

NOTES:

1. You can chop/powder almonds and pistachios finely and sprinkle on the dough before it sets and then after two hours, you can cut them in to square pieces.

2. SEE ALSO: Wheat Ladoo, Badam Halwa, Choco Burfi

Millet Pongal(Sweet)

Foxtail millet sweet pongal using jaggery and moong dal . Droolicous !!!

Preparation Time: 5 minutes(not including soaking time)
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Serves : 2

METHOD:

Moong dal - 1/4 cup
Foxtail millet/Thinai - 1/2 cup
Jaggery -1/2 cup
Milk -1 cup
Water -1.5 cup
Cashews - 3 to 4 no.s
Cardamom powder - as required
Almonds - as required for garnishing
Ghee - 1 tablespoon

INGREDIENTS:

1. Soak moong dal in cold water for 30 minutes. In a small pan, take 1/2 cup jaggery and add 1/2 cup water and allow it to boil till the jaggery completely dissolves. Now filter the impurities and keep the jaggery water aside.

2. Now in a pan, add 1 tablespoon ghee and add cashews.

3. Now add soaked and drained moong dal. Add 1 cup milk and 1 cup water. Allow the contents to boil well. Keep stirring in between to avoid burning. Cook for approximately 10 minutes, till the moong dal is 70 % cooked. When you touch and squeeze the moong bean it will be soft . That is the consistency.

4. Now add washed and drained foxtail millet( no need to soak millet in prior). Mix well and allow it to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Then add jaggery water and allow it to boil. You can see slowly, the mixture thickens.

5. After adding jaggery water, cook for 3 to 4 minutes.The mixture thickens well and comes together. When you touch the millet, it should be soft and mushy.Switch off the stove and add cardamom powder and mix well.

6. Foxtail millet sweet pongal is ready !. Before serving, add chopped almonds or any nuts of your choice.

SEE ALSO MY OTHER SWEET RECIPES: http://jothicookingbook.blogspot.tw/search/label/Sweets

Corn Capsicum Pulao

Here is the recipe to make corn capsicum pulao !

Preparation Time: 15 minutes(Not including rice soaking time)
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 1 person

INGREDIENTS:
Basmati Rice - 1/2 cup
Capsicum - 1 no
Sweet corn - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1/2 cup chopped
Tomato(optional) - 1 medium sized
Ginger,garlic and green chilli paste - 1 tablespoon
Garam masala -1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Whole black pepper - 4 to 5 no.s
Cinnamon  stick - as required
Clove -3 no.s
Star anise - as required
Oil - 2 tablespoon

METHOD:

1. Soak basmati rice in cold water for 30 minutes. Cut capsicum,tomato and onion in to small pieces. Prepare ginger,garlic and green chilli paste.

2. In a pressure cooker, add 2 teaspoon of oil. Then add cumin seeds, pepper,cinnamon,cloves and star anise.

3. Now add onions and fry till they change color. You can add a pinch of salt.

4. Now add ginger ,garlic and green chilli paste and fry for another minute , till the raw smell is gone.

5. Now add chopped capsicum,sweet corn and tomato. Also add required salt and garam masala.

6. Now add soaked and drained basmati rice to the veggies and mix gently. Add 1 cup water and close the lid. Cook in medium flame for two whistles and switch off. Let the pressure settle itself.

7. Serve with any dal or dry curry of your choice.

NOTES:

1. If you forgot to soak rice prior, you can cook in high 1 whistle and then in medium flame for 4 whistles and switch off the stove and let the pressure settle. This will give a grainy textured pulao.

2. If you want to the pulao to look more white in colour , you can add equal quantities of milk and water to cook. For example, for 1/2 cup basmati rice, you can add 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of water.

3. SEE ALSO: Vegetable sambar rice, Veg fried rice, Tomato pulao